Lubricator



NOV. 30 1943. MELDAHIL 2,335,598

- LUBRICATOR Filed July 26, 1941 Patented Nov. 30, 1943 LUBBICATOR Axel Meldahl, Ennetbaden, Switzerland, assignor to Aktiengesellschaft Brown, Boveri & Cie,

Baden, Switzerland Application July 26, 1941, Serial No. 404,232 In Switzerland December 9, 1940 Claims. (Cl. 308-127) This invention relates to lubrication and particularly to a disc-type lubricator for high peripheral speeds.

It has been proposed to utilize, for the lubrication of a bearing, a disc attached to the shaft and having its periphery dipping in the lubricating oil. On rotation of the shaft the disc picks upoil which is thrown off the disc and carried to the bearing.

If such a lubricating disc is used at a peripheral speed exceeding about 20 to 30 meters per second, it fails to work. The air current generated by the disc blows a depression in the surface of the oil so that the disc runs in an empty trough without being wetted by the oil and the operation of the lubricator ceases.

It has now been surprisingly found that it is possible to supply oil with lubricating discs at up to the highest peripheral speeds, if in the place of a single disc, a plurality of discs, at least two, are placed adjacent one another on the shaft. At low peripheral speeds the two discs work like the usual lubricator disc. At higher peripheral speeds the oil is again blown away from the discs by the air currents, but at the same time a sub-pressure is generated between the discs which draws the oil up between the discs and carries it along for a substantial distance. The oil is then thrown out again from between the discs at a higher level and can be caught and carried to the bearing. This effect occurs most strongly when the distance separating the discs is from to /3 the diameter of the discs.

The invention will be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation, and Fig. 2 is a front elevation, of a single disc lubricator showing the effect produced at high peripheral speeds;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic side elevation, and Fig. 4 is a front elevation, of a double disc lubricator embodying the principles of the invention;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a modified embodiment of the invention, and

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation of a further modification of the invention.

In Figs. 1 and 2, I is the disc and 2 is the shaft. As soon as the peripheral speed of the disc exceeds 20 to 30 meters per second the air currents indicated by the arrows press the surface of the oil away from the disc, forming a trough 3 in which the disc runs dry.

In Figs. 3 and 4, which show a pair of discs la, in accordance with the invention, the air currents form eddies as indicated by the arrows, which suck the oil up between the discs and carry it along so that it is thrown off into a catch hood '4 and thence is conducted to the point of application, for example, the bearings.

It is desirable that the distance d be not less than and. not more than /3 of the diameter D.- As will be seen from the drawing, the discs ex"- tend radially from the shaft a distance greater than the radius of the shaft.

The catch member can be a hood with curvedin edges, as shown in Fig. 3, or a tube 5, in the nature of a pitot tube, dipping in the oil wave thrown up by the discs, may be used, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

In the device of the invention having two or more discs on the shaft, the following method of operation occurs:

At low speeds the discs operate as dipping discs; at high speeds the oil is carried along by the eddy currents between the discs without touching the discs.

Under some conditions, it occurs that there is a small range of speeds in which the dipping effect has ceased before the eddy-current effect has begun. To bridge over this dead area at least one of the discs may be carried loose on the shaft and only rotated by frictional engagement, as shown in Fig. 6. The loose disc lb then turns more slowly than the fixed disc Ia and continues to act as a dipping disc until the speed of the other disc or discs has increased to the point where the eddy-current effect sets in, thus bridging the dead area. Eventually both discs la and lb run at speeds which produce the eddy current effect shown in Figs. 3-6.

I claim:

1. A lubricating device particularly adapted for operation at high peripheral speeds comprising a plurality of discs mounted for rotation on a shaft and extending radially therefrom a distance greater than the radius of the shaft, means for supporting a pool of lubricating oil below the shaft within the radial dimensions of the discs, said discs being spaced apart longitudinally of said shaft to provide an unobstructed space therebetween of such width that at high peripheral speeds of the discs a wave of oil is lifted above the surface of the pool between the discs, and means for catching oil thrown from said discs.

A lubricating device particularly adapted for operation at high peripheral speeds comprising a plurality of discs mounted for rotation on a shaft and extending radially therefrom a distance greater than the radius of the shaft, means for supporting a pool of lubricating oil below the shaft within the radial dimensions of the discs, said discs being spaced apart longitudinally of said shaft to provide an unobstructed space therebetween of a width from A to /3 the diameter of the discs, and means for catching oil thrown from said discs.

3. A lubricating device particularly adapted for operation at high peripheral speeds comprising a plurality of discs mounted for rotation on a shaft and extending radially therefrom a distance greater than the radius of the shaft, means for supporting a pool of lubricating oil' below the shaft Within the radial dimensions of the discs, said discs being spaced apart longitudinally of said shaft to provide an unobstructed space therebetween of such width that at high peripheral speeds of the discs a wave of oil is lifted above the surface of the pool between the discs, and a hood member with incurved edges extending peripherally above the upper edges of the discs for catching oil thrown from the discs.

4. A lubricating device particularly adapted for operation at high peripheral speeds comprising a plurality of discs mounted for rotation on a shaft and extending radially therefrom a distance greater than the radius of the shaft, means for supporting a pool of lubricating oil below the shaft within the radial dimensions of the discs, said discs being spaced apart longitudinally of said shaft to provide an unobstructed space therebetween of such width that at high peripheral speeds of the discs a wave of oil is lifted above the surface of the pool between the discs, and a tube dipping into the wave of oil thrown up between the discs at high peripheral speeds of the discs to conduct the oil to the point of application.

5. A lubricating device particularly adapted for operation at high peripheral speeds comprising a plurality of discs mounted for rotation on a shaft and extending radially therefrom a distance greater than the radius of the shaft, means for supporting a pool of lubricating oil below the shaft within the radial dimensions of the discs, said discs being spaced apart longitudinally of said shaft to provide an unobstructed space therebetween of such width that at high peripheral speeds of the discs a wave of oil is lifted above the surface of the pool between the discs and at least one of said discs being loosely mounted on said shaft for rotation by frictional enagement, and means for catching oil thrown from said discs.

AXEL MELDAHL. 

